Denver Man Got Arrested For Trying to Rob a Bank, and He Couldn’t Be Happier

30 Sep, 2014 by Cassy Fiano

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Criminals usually aren’t too happy about getting arrested. But when Michael Whitington was arrested after fleeing from a bank robbery, instead of being upset at getting caught, he let out a big, toothy grin for his mugshot.

A man captured after authorities say he tried to flee a bank robbery in Denver doesn’t seem too upset about his arrest.

The mug shot taken after 45-year-old Michael Whitington’s Sept. 23 arrest shows him with a broad, toothy smile and his eyes open wide.

Police say he robbed a bank on Denver’s 16th Street pedestrian mall and then tried to get away on a light-rail train. Officers stopped the train a few blocks away and arrested him.

What is it that makes criminals grin for mugshots? Is it for internet notoriety, because they’re drugged out of their minds, because they want to go to prison, what? Typically, jail is something most people want to avoid, along with a criminal record, so what is there to smile about?